FEATURED ARTICLES

December 2, 2014 -- A large team of scientists used a combination of complex, cutting-edge-science testing methods to expand the understanding of the chemical components present in weathered oil. They completed a detailed molecular analysis of oiled sand found on beaches near Pensacola, Florida following the Deepwater Horizon spill and identified tens of thousands of oxygenated compounds. The researchers published their findings in the May 2014 edition of Energy & Fuels: Targeted Petroleomics: Analytical Investigation of Macondo Well Oil Oxidation Products from Pensacola Beach. Read more...

November 24, 2014 -- There can be catastrophic results when a large amount of oil is spilled into the ocean, but did you know that many marine organisms need a little bit of oil to survive? The Smithsonian Ocean Portal posted a guest blog by Caroline Johansen explaining how natural oil and gas seeps from the ocean floor act as a source of energy for bacteria. Johansen is an oceanography graduate student at Florida State University working on GoMRI-funded research with the ECOGIG and Deep-C consortia. Her research is part of a broader study to understand the impacts of natural seepage versus that of abrupt, large hydrocarbon inputs in the Gulf of Mexico. Read more...

September 16, 2014 -- From March-December 2010 during ten research cruises covering over 105,000 square kilometers, scientists documented the fate and dynamics of Deepwater Horizon methane emissions around the blowout site. They found that methane concentrations in deepwater plumes peaked in May and early June coincident with a rapid rise in the abundance of methane-oxidizing microbes and in their activity, but then oxidation activity dropped sharply in late June. Read more...

FEATURED VIDEO

Deep-C works with students to collect oil samples along Florida beaches through the Deep-C Gulf Oil Observers (GOO) project. Catherine Carmichael from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and marine science teacher Shawn Walker describe the research that Florida high school students experienced first-hand through Project GOO. Listen and watch as they use fieldwork to transform the beach into a classroom, training the next generation of scientists.